Overview
- On Saturday at Truist Park Chris Sale worked 5 2/3 innings, allowed two unearned runs on five hits, struck out seven and received a single run of support from an Ozzie Albies solo homer.
- The club built in five extra days of rest for Sale because of a rainout, an off-day and long-range rotation planning intended to protect pitchers during a stretch of injuries.
- Sale has been unusually effective this season, carrying a 2.30 ERA through 13 starts and a 1.88 ERA over his past 10 starts while showing a four-seam fastball that averaged about 97–97.5 mph in recent outings.
- Despite Atlanta ranking among the better offenses overall, the team has repeatedly failed to score for Sale specifically, recording one or fewer runs in four of his past six starts.
- The June 20 matchup also highlighted game-level difficulty: Brewers rookie Kyle Harrison retired the first 12 Braves batters and took advantage of a defensive misplay to spark a two-run sixth inning that decided the game.